


Family Ties

by dystopian



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Death, Death Eaters, Draco Malfoy - Freeform, F/M, Gryffindor, Guarantee that this story won’t end the way you think it will :)), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Spoilers, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, James Sirius Potter - Freeform, Love, Next Generation, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Post-Second War with Voldemort, Quidditch, Quidditch World Cup, Romance, Scorpius Malfoy - Freeform, Slytherin, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, Teen Romance, Twins, star crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 18:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17586119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dystopian/pseuds/dystopian
Summary: "The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."The words of Albus Potter rang within Carina Ophelia Malfoy's ears as she stepped forward, with her clammy hands balled into fists, and her eyes focused intently on the ground.This was it. The moment that would define the rest of her life, the decision that would turn her fortune around for good.As she lowered herself into the wooden stool, the girl held her breath, waiting for the single word she had been anticipating for eleven straight years.Carina's face had nearly turned blue before she  realized something was wrong. She was a Malfoy, this wasn't supposed to be an arduous process. The 'Slytherin!' always emerged before they could even be seated, just like her brother only moments before, and her father all those years ago.Finally, after fifteen long minutes of hushed whispers and anticipation, the hat spoke."Gryffindor!"





	1. An Unusual Favor

Ꮯarina Ophelia Malfoy maintained a statically dull expression throughout the duration of the morning of September first. Her and her family's plight to King's Cross station, unlike most, had never necessarily been a highlight of her year. She had been awoken that morning by the brilliant sun beaming in through her open window, before immediately cursing at herself for forgetting to close it the night before. As she had begun to do more and more often, the evening prior had been spent perched on the slanted roof of the manor. Sometimes she fell asleep like that, with her legs curled up to her chest and her back pressed against the freezing stone exterior wall. 

Her bedroom, along with the rest of the ghostly Malfoy residence, always seemed to be working against her whenever she wanted a moment of peace. The air was too frigid, the atmosphere too ghostly silent. Sometimes, she was even afraid to exhale to deeply, out of the fear that such a noise would disrupt the general stillness of the home. The outdoors weren't like that. The weather was preferable, even at night, and nothing was ever truly silent. She was always surrounded by a cacophony of noises—whether they be the loud signing of a bird or the chirping of grasshoppers on the ground below. Carina found herself resorting to the shingles roof of the Scottish above on a more frequent basis, and more often than not for periods longer than she could fathomably estimate. The only true measure as to just how long she spent was whether or not she had been too tired to close the large window towards the edge of her room. 

Her bedroom itself somehow managed to exist within the generally dull atmosphere of the family's Scottish abode, although it felt to Carina as a sort of parallel dimension. The grey brick walls had been covered by Prophet clippings, posters, and banners, most of which contained beaming men and women swishing by on broomsticks. Both the Montrose Magpies and Appleby Arrows seemed to be competing for space, with each team's colors— black and blue, respectively, took over a substantial yet equal portion of the wall space. Clothes were strewn across the wooden floor, accompanied by the ever-present candy wrapper or old textbook. However, one odd element made the room stick out from that of every other athletic teenager in Europe: the room's complete lack of Hogwarts paraphernalia. House colors were nowhere to be seen, nor were any photographs of friends or momentous events. Despite the obvious level of personalization she had built up, the room seemed more as an omniscient shrine rather than something she was truly a part of. 

It was a true miracle Carina had gotten to sleep at all the previous night. Not only had Scorpius been blasting The Weird Sisters' newest recording at full blast, but her venture to the roof had managed to fill her head with overwhelming thoughts of the day— year, to come. However, upon her awakening, she could already hear the sound of her brother's trunk being heaved down the nearby stairwell.

Clunk.  
Their house elf's hard footsteps pierced through the thick layer of silence that surrounded the home like a knife, along with the ever-so-subtle grunts he would utter with each few steps. Carina sat up and released a noise of her own; a long, exhausted groan as she stretched her sore, exasperated muscles. She had packed the night before, as it was one of the few tasks she had performed in order to subside her thoughts about the upcoming school year. Still, she had been as emotionally numb then as she was now, simply staring at the familiar storage unit as if it wasn't going to contribute to, or solidify, her impending doom.  
Ꭺfter a quick and equally uneventful dressing and braiding of her long, white hair, the female grabbed her Nimbus 2502, draped her small drawstring pouch across her side, and stuffed her wand in the back pocket of her jeans. With that, and the cage of her restless barn owl, Lennox (after the famed Magpies seeker) resting in one hand, she exited the room, lugging the trunk across the wooden flooring behind her. After a long and arduous haul down three flights of stairs, and several dismissals of the out-of-breath house elf's attempts to relieve her, an out-of-breath Carina made it to the first level, where her father and brother had already begun their departure. Scorpius stood in the large fireplace, clutching his own owl and trunk close to his body, prepared to go. Her father stood nearby, prepared to keep a close watch to ensure his children ended up in the right place. As Carina approached, Scorpius disappeared into a mass of green flames. Her father nodded in her direction, and extended the pot of Floo powder. Yet, he said nothing.

In truth, he seldom spoke to the girl, aside from the occasional single-syllabled 'yes' or 'no' when he was really passionate about something. Carina was her mother's daughter, and it was incredibly well known. Both children were. Astoria and Draco has been alike in many ways; the important ways. Yet, she lacked his desire for order and containment. It had taken Draco years to work up to the 'rebellious' choices made against his family's wishes, but Astoria had never seemed to care what others thought of her and her children. She was self-assured, sure, but never enough so that others noticed. Despite everything, she managed to still feel love for her children despite who they became. For Carina, her mother's somewhat kindness made her first few years at Hogwarts somewhat tolerable. While she skipped out on Christmas in her first year, Astoria still sent a package of sweets. And that summer, she bought her a new broom. 

The home was much more silent, now. Empty, so to speak. It was their second King's Cross venture without her, but it still felt unnatural. Without her, home too had become a place where she could no longer be safe, surrounded by judgment and hate. Hogwarts was no different. No matter where she went, Carina was trapped in a state of pure, agonizing isolation. 

Upon their arrival, the teenager could feel the gaze of a dozen pairs of eyes as they made their way across the platform. Scorpius and Draco looked forward, their identical expressions stern and dedicated, with their long black cloaks billowing behind them. Scorpius looked down at his trolley, his face bright red from the obnoxious, infinite chirping of his owl that rang throughout the area. Carina walked easily a few paces behind them, pushing her trolley with one hand while the other attempted to hastily roll up the sleeve of her jumper. It really was quite laughable, the way she differed from the two men. While they all shared quite obvious physical similarities; thick white hair, angled features, and lanky builds, along with their astrological names, Carina had a level of humanity to her; bad posture, a changing gaze, the nervous biting of her lip, that made her stand out. She had given up on dressing formally to the station in her third year. It had become laughable by that point, almost as if she was a young child dressing up for Halloween. It didn't make the rumors any better, either. 

The boarding process went as all others did. Carina nodded a goodbye to her father, attempted an awkward smile, and walked aboard. Somehow, she managed to find an empty compartment towards the back of the train, sandwiched between a group of second-year Hufflepuff girls and some rowdy seventh-year boys. A couple particularly ignorant kids, nudged her in the narrow passageway, along with some choice insults she had already heard too many times to be hurtful in any way. She was strictly numb to all of it, entirely involuntarily. There wasn't much more she could do. This was her fault, all that had happened to her over the past four years. She made the choice, knowing the consequences that were to come of it. Yet, she ignored them.

A weak laugh was released from the girl as Lennox nuzzled his head underneath her chin, after happily devouring his second licorice wand. The owl was perched on her shoulder, as he normally was, with his cage discarded on the empty seat across from her. Carina's feet were outstretched on the bench, with her nose buried in her already-memorized copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. She already had the book memorized by this point, but she always found it beneficial to review some of the more important maneuvers. It proved true, given that nobody could deny that she was easily one of the better chasers, with stellar strategies and an even stronger flying ability. Despite that, she still wanted to be as prepared as possible. For a while, she was content, enjoying the shenanigans of her owl and the book in her lap.

That changed, however, when the sliding glass door to her compartment slid open, cutting through the thick layer of silence that was shrouded over its inhabitant.

 

"Oh, it's you," snarled a voice, one Carina knew far better than she would've liked. "Pardon me, but it seems I've entered the wrong compartment. I don't recall sitting with snakes."  
The girl didn't even need to look up to know exactly who was speaking. His shrill, mocking tone had given him away, laced with a significant amount malice that could only be conjured up by he alone.  
James Sirius Potter.

Over the years, Carina had all but mastered the art of false confidence. With each pathetic insult hurled her way as she walked through the halls, every meal spent alone, and each tedious return home, she was able to appear convincingly content. It was quite impressive, really. Who, in actuality, would be truly be happy in her situation? Who could? She had absolutely no friends, no real familial connection, a dead mother, and ninety-nine percent of Hogwarts committed to ending what little reputation she held.  
It was quite life to live, yet Carina couldn't exactly pity herself. She had never known any different, save the rare occasions her mother made an effort to amuse her. How could she strive for a life she didn't know, or envy those who lived it?  
As far as she was concerned, people got the lives they deserved, ands she was no exception. 

James Potter, however, happened to be one.  
He was perhaps the finest example of the kind of person that Carina despised; cocky, arrogant, demeaning, self-righteous, and entirely underserving of the never-ending privileges he seemed to receive. In no way did James deserve half of the good things that came to him.  
Everything about him was the literal opposite of her, and they both made it loudly known. James was everything Carina couldn't be, both in ways good and bad. He was popular, charismatic, persuasive— even Carina couldn't deny that he was extremely attractive. Girls fawned over him, every boy wanted to be his friend. James was following in his father's footsteps, only he had lucked out in terms of who exactly his father happened to be.  
She was jealous of him.  
Not to mention, he was a complete pain in the arse.

It was he, who within the span of a single year managed to come up with roughly three quarters of the pathetic nicknames she had been given, and who instantly joined, if not initiated, the bandwagon of students convinced of her secret a Death Eater status. 

"They're just jealous of you," her mother had said, regarding the boys hissing outside of Madame Malkin's in the summer before her second year. At that point, the frail woman was still insistent on acting unfazed by her daughter's actions the year before. However, it was clear by the dull tone Carina had grown to know, that she was saying little more than empty lies. Nobody was jealous of her. Even now, James Potter certainly wasn't jealous of her. At least, of anything other than Quidditch. She could likely destroy him in a one-on-one match, and she was sure he knew it too. Not that they had ever played, but to say the very least, her ability with a Quaffle was perhaps the one thing Carina was truthfully proud of. During the first flying lesson of her first year, the old Cleansweep 15 had flown into her hand so rapidly, it had almost knocked the petite preteen to the floor. She could still recall the feeling of the wooden handle within her palm, and the surge of power that coursed through her veins as the object provided her with that sense of security.  
When Carina was in the air, there was nobody who could stop her. Feeling the harsh wind against her face, it's current allowing her to dart in what ever direction she chose— it was the one sense of empowerment she had ever been able to feel. James, however, had an easy task as the team's seeker. He sat still most of the game, and only had to make a few swift movements in order to rial the crowd up enough. It was only by sheer luck that he managed to catch the snitch most of the time. 

In regards to their current encounter, Carina didn't want to even give him the attention that acknowledgement would provide. Her eyes remained engines on the page, a sense of satisfaction hiding itself from a prevalent appearance on her face. It was a childish response, but nonetheless what he deserved.  
After a moment, James snorted. He stood before her now, his athletic, yet lanky build resting nonchalantly against the side of the compartment. His dark hair was spiked in the air, seemingly in a permanent state of unruliness.  
He really was attractive. 

"Are you actually just going to ignore me?" His arms folded across his chest, and she heard the glass sliding door creak as he leaned his weight against it. "How do you know I'm not here to start a friendly conversation?"  
"Please," Carina started, her eyes unwavering from the page explaining the detailed history of Puddlemere United. "We both know you're not here for that." Her voice could've been her mother's, it was so devoid of emotion. Yet, a thin half-smile uncontrollably crept its way upon her lips, and she stifled a laugh regarding the mere prospect of James Potter wanting anything more from her than another childish insult. Her head finally raised, the crown resting against the back of the compartment window. Lennox hooted, and shifted his position upon her shoulder. His owner slowly closed the book in her lap, before dramatically allowing herself to make her silver eyes meet the boy's muddy brown. 

"Well," James began, raising his jet colored eyebrows. "You put your book down...and are now staring at me as if you wanna hex the life out of me, but it's a start." He offered a weak smile and took an elongated step closer, which was only met with a further-intensified glare on Carina's part. "Merlin, I'm not gonna strangle you, relax. I, erm, wanted to ask you something."  
"Ask me what?"  
"For help."

"Excuse me?" Carina gagged.

"Quidditch. You're good at it." James announced, staring down the girl before him, raising a single eyebrow as his eyes scanned over her, every intricate detail of her face. "Now, don't ask as to how I know, because we've been playing on the team together for about two years now, and I pick up on those kind of things."

"What an insightful observation," Carina rolled her eyes. It appeared to James as if she wasn't quite sure if she should hex the boy now or wait until he was finished.

"Now, I'm not saying you're better than me or anything— because you're not. You're really not..." For a moment, he choked up, debating what exactly to say next. As sly as James was, he had never been the greatest improviser. That was a known fact. "However," James started, "I want you to help me practice". Carina almost snorted.

"Nice try. I'm not a fool, James." She released an annoyed groan.

"I'm serious!" James retorted. "Teach me some of your tricks. Besides, you can't even claim I'm doing this maliciously, as we play on the same team here, and it would be kind of daft on my part to use this against you."

This was the longest conversation the two had ever had.

In truth, neither James nor Carina could necessarily pinpoint why their rivalry had carried on for this long, or reached this magnitude of intensity. Naturally, Carina knew about the boy from a very early age, as well as the rest of his large and domineering family (it seemed that nearly every student with any sort of social status at Hogwarts was a Potter or Weasley). Yet, their first encounter didn't happen until her first year, when James hexed her shoelaces together as she exited the common room. She couldn't recall a single conversation that consisted of any more than a few choice words thrown across the room. Why was he trying to talk now? The answer was quite simple, and she was never one to deny a challenge.

"And how would that help?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. "Said so yourself, I'm no better than you are. We don't even play the same position." James had been the Gryffindor Seeker for the past three years. It had become a laughable position, in actuality. Whilst the other team members, primarily Chasers, found themselves frequenting the hospital wing post-matches, James seldom carried more than a scratch. Whilst she had a solid technique and strategies, James would do laps around the field until he just so happened to come into contact with the snitch. The sound of giggling girls as he zoomed past was something the team loved to mock. Carina had personally grown rather annoyed by it. 

Perhaps this could be fun. She had assumed that James would be smart enough to know that she was far to experienced to truly fall for his pranks. However, that in and of itself is incorrect. James Potter wasn't smart.

"Tonight at dusk, on the Quidditch pitch," Carina began, discarding her previous statement. "You want to learn some moves? I'd happily oblige to teach them." She flashed a sly smile in his direction; an obvious mockery of his.

"You're actually coming?" He asked in disbelief, before quickly masking his slip up. "Well then. Great. I'll see you then, Mal-Carina." Her name coming from his tongue felt foreign to hear aloud, as if he had never properly addressed her by her full first name. He cleared his throat and attempted to swallow his pride, running a hand through his disheveled hair and meeting her silverly blue optics. 

"Thank you for this." He said, with an air of finality in his voice before exiting, not waiting to hear her response. ⠀⠀


	2. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters will be shorter, but I may go back and condense multiple into one as time goes on. Hope you enjoy regardless!

After exiting the compartment, James Potter pulled his black robes a little bit closer to his body, in shock of what he had just done. For having been in Gryffindor house for six years now, speaking with Malfoy was probably one of the more courageous things he had done in his entire Hogwarts career. As he made his way down the cramped hallway, his feet dragging along the embroidered carpet, he went through the entire encounter once again, trying to decipher the girl's every facial movement and witty response. 

Why did he fear her, anyway?

His palms were growing sweaty. Hastily, he rubbed them against his black robes, swallowing hard. He had not even noticed his own apprehensiveness at the time, as he had just gone for it, and decided to ask the younger girl for help. Had this been the same time one or two years ago, he would't have dared done such a thing as absurd as asking Carina Malfoy for help, especially in something he was so good at. He would still never say that she was better than him at Quidditch, because the simple truth was that he was the best on the team. There was a reason, after all, that he had gotten the captain position over another sixth or fifth year. Even his cousin Fred had been hit with quite a whammy when he hadn't gotten Quidditch captain, and James had shrugged, glancing at his cousin with a look of fake sorrow and sympathy. He had reached his arm over and gave him a pat on the back, saying, "It's alright, buddy. Just know if I wasn't around, you would have gotten it. I mean, of course you didn't, since I'm better than you and all, but you're great too." James had honestly meant to be inspiriting, but the other lion heart had just ogled at him as if he was the biggest prat on the face of the planet. ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"Where have you been? You said you were just going to change into your robes," Louis Weasley elucidated once James appeared on the other side of the glass entryway, his crystal colored optics glaring towards his cousin. Everyone in the compartment had gotten changed as well, presumably during the brief time period in which James had spoken to Carina. Louis was the only one who seemed that interested in James' twenty minute exodus. Roxanne and Fred had begun talking about the top contenders for the 2018 Quidditch World Cup, and James was ready to interfere in their colloquy, to start ranting about how Norway would take the trophy home. However, he turned his attention back to his cousin with the bleach blonde hair. He avoided eye contact, moving forward and taking the seat closest to the window, facing the grasslands which were turning into a cluster of small towns, houses, and buildings as they sped along. They were nearing Hogsmeade. 

"Well, I did get changed," James began, motioning to the black robe draped over his figure, layering atop a red flannel and jeans. James had always been an outspoken opposer of the Hogwarts dress code.  "I stepped into the wrong compartment on the way back, saw Carina Malfoy." He did his best to shrug the situation off as if it meant nothing, acting as if it was perhaps the most normal thing in the world. Out of his prepherial vision, James could see the jaw of Louis drop, and he struggled to come up with words for a few moment. 

"You saw her? You spoke to her?" Louis gasped, as James rolled his eyes at the lovesickness of his cousin. Louis acted as if Carina Malfoy was some supernatural being that was higher than all of them— a goddess, if anything. 

"No, not really," James responded. "As soon as I saw it was her, I left. Stopped by Lucy's compartment to speak to her about the Quidditch season for a bit." This lie was far smoother than his earlier attempt. So much so, he didn't even have to seriously ponder it. The expression of disbelief on his cousin's face fell, replaced by one of annoyance as he turned away, instead focusing on his Chocolate Frog collection. James had no idea why he had just told his best friend a distruth— he was unsure of whether he was lying because he didn't want Louis to know that he was asking for help, or if it was some bigger reason.  
"Why do you even like her, anyway?" he asked. "Merlin, Lou, you're part veela. Remember all those girls you charmed into doing your homework last year? Go fancy one of them, not the snake who hates you with every bone in her body." His cousin looked flabbergasted. 

"More like she hates you with every bone in her body," he stomped his foot against the ground. "How could she not want me? I mean, hello? I'm blonde. Imagine our babies. They would be gorgeous." His face was dead-pan, and he stared at James challengingly whilst the other boy stifled a laugh.  
"Alright, Lou, you're my cousin. I love you and all, but you're seriously the most egotistical prat I have ever met." There was silence for a moment, something uncommon for the two boys.

"Carina can play Quidditch blindfolded better than you can normally, by the way. Is that why you hate my girl so much? Because you know she can whoop your arse at the only thing you're somewhat good at besides getting yourself in detention thrice a week?" He flashed a competitive smirk. James face, however, didn't budge. Conveniently, the train has just come to a screeching halt as it arrived at its final destination.  
He stood up, adjusted his robes, and pushed the glass door open.  
"She's not your girl, arsehole."

——

James was one of the first to file in to the hallway amongst the others in his train car, carrying nothing but his wand. However, a loud commotion from the neighboring car caused him to jolt back, ducking inside the compartment once again. Just as he exited, he heard a loud commotion coming from down the hall, and quickly hurried to investigate. He was James Potter, after all. It was his sworn duty to cause mayhem and mischief in all matters on Hogwarts frowns. His chocolate brown optics followed the tumult of the sound, which he had drawn nearer to.

"Watch out lads, it's snake season!" 

A group of seventh years stood outside a compartment, and had begun to holler as a familiar silver-haired girl pushed her way through, keeping her eyes trained on the exit ahead. Her expression was entirely unfazed.  
A Slytherin girl, presumably one of Scorpius' friends, took the situation to yet another unneeded extreme. She hastily an forcefully grabbed the petite girl's left arm and nearly bent it backwards, almost sending her to her knees.

"Show us your mark, traitor!" The Malfoy released a heavy grunt and pushed herself away, making a greater effort to quickly weave through the crowd before any further chaos could ensue. 

"Snake!" 

His eyes met those of Carina Malfoy's. If this had been any normal day, he would've been joining in. However, his lips remained involuntarily sealed. For a split second, James even considered telling the offenders to stop. However, he found his feet moving all by themselves and walking quickly off the train.


End file.
